Where Did That Week Go? Part 2

Ok, so where did I leave off.....after lots of morning fun at the park catching up with Vicki and her gang, we went on the squirrel search and then lunch. A great place Vicki suggested that served small town home cooking buffet style - can't get any better than that.

After lunch we drove around Edwards county a bit to let the younger ones sleep before we headed to West Salem. When we arrived we were able to tour my beloved Clifton and Frances' former house. Clifton and Frances were our neighbors growing up - we made many trips back to IL to see them. They have passed away, but we still talk about them a lot at our house. Isaiah and Lillie are named for them (their middle names) and Isaiah still talks about how he remembers their house and Frances' cookies (which she let us eat for breakfast)....anyway the house was gorgeous. The old gold shag carpeting had been ripped up and the beautiful hardwood floors underneath were re-stained and look beautiful. They added a bathroom to the main floor and their furnishings really show the house off. It was wonderful to see people take such good care of a place that was so special to so many. I wish Clifton and Frances would have made those same renovations - it would have made their life so much easier in so many ways!

Here's a picture of the kids on their front porch - we saw many a parade and spent many a summer evening visiting on this porch.

After we toured that house we went across the street to the parsonage which had been our house for close to 7 years. We toured it too, and while many changes have been made to it as well, it really still looks like the house I grew up in. I showed the kids where my old bedroom used to be and every room seemed so much smaller than I remembered it! I told myself I was going to take a lot of pictures, but I didn't - gives me a reason to have to go back someday...

From there we went into the church where we saw this mural a guy in the church made for the anniversary celebration....all the men in the mural are the ministers (that are still living) that the church has had....my dad's likeness is on the far right.


That night the church served a chowder and chili supper. All the towns around that area are known for their chowder, which is like a thick vegetable soup (with all kinds of meat). They cook it in these big kettles for hours, stirring it with these wooden paddles. West Salem used to have a Chowder day in August and these pots would be seen steaming and stirring all along the town square. I think the chowder is yummy - none of my boys would try it though - and I didn't take a picture of it to show you what it looked like - bad photographer I am....


Sunday morning the church had a special presentation of its history among many other different specials. My dad sang a song - they always want him to sing for them when he comes to visit - he's got a small town church hymnal singing kind of voice. Here's a terrible shot of dad singing - I was holding Lillie with one hand, taking the picture with the other and leaning out into the isle - not the best photographer's stance.


At the end of the morning sermon, the current minister presented all of the attending former ministers and wives with a basket of goodies. Mom and Dad are the on the left...


We had another good meal after church - love small church pot luck dinners! - then we headed home. Not as many fun stops on the way home, but that meant we made pretty good time though. I failed in the photograph department - its hard to wrangle kids and take pictures. The church is so beautiful and the sun shining through those stained glass windows gives the sanctuary such a warm glow....and I didn't get a picture of any of it - but like I said, just gives me another reason to go back!

When we got back Steven was waiting for us....he had gifts for all of us from his trip - Avery got moose slippers and Isaiah and Huston got a frog boot scrapper (I think that is secretly kind of a mommy gift - he is trying to encourage the boys to scrape off the dirt and sand before they come in the house). He brought me a couple of shirts and yet another huge pencil for the boys to use....what's with the huge pencils?

Here is Isaiah with the boot scraper and Avery wearing his moose slippers....